A doctor in Udupi, Dr Keerthan Kumar M Upadhya, was booked by the Karnataka police for Inflammatory and Islamophobic posts on the social media platform, X.
According to his social media profile, the doctor works at a private hospital in Udupi’s Brahmavara. Dr Upadhya came under the radar, over his response to a post by media influencers and content creators, Abi and Niyu.
Responding to the post, dated July 13, which asked, “If you could delete one thing from the planet today-what would it be?” The doctor responded with “Muslim community”. His response quickly went viral and drew widespread public outrage.
Soon after Upadhya deleted the tweet and changed the name of his x account to “@Stranger_Solo”. Subsequently, he claimed that his account had been hacked.
He wrote, “The funny thing is there was a post in my account today. I had stopped using Twitter a few months back. I realised something unwanted was posted. Someone was using my account. I have changed the password login details and everything related to the account. The account was hacked. Apologies to all here.”
However, several social media users later started digging more. They brought out screenshots of old tweets of Upadhya in which he is seen degrading Islam, making derogatory comments about the Muslim community and suggesting the deportation of Muslims from India.
Users on X have raised serious concerns about how a medical professional with such blatant prejudice and hate against Muslims could provide impartial and ethical treatment to his Muslim patients.
An official of Mahesh Private Hospital, where Dr Upadhya has been working as a surgeon, told Siasat.com that the management learned about the case through social media.
When questioned if an action had been initiated against the doctor over his provocative remarks, the hospital official stated that the management had launched an investigation and Upadhya had been placed on leave indefinitely.
Police action
The FIR was filed based on a complaint by wireless sub inspector Ajmal Rahim who serves as the head of the Udupi district police’s social media monitoring cell.
In his complaint, Rahim requested proper legal action against Dr Kirtan Upadhya for attempting to foment religious hatred and jeopardize communal harmony through derogatory and provocative comments aimed at the Muslim community.
A case was registered against Dr Upadhya under sections 196, and 353 of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempting to disrupt communal harmony and promoting animosity between religious communities.
Taking to X, the Udupi Superintendent of Police (SP) stated that Dr Upadhya posted derogatory statements against Islam and that a case has been registered and an investigation is in progress.
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